Healthcare Concerns

Archive for the ‘Entertainment’ Category

Gary Coleman’s ex-wife is asking a judge to award her the child TV star’s estate.

Shannon Price testified on Monday in district court that even though the two divorced in 2008 they continued to live together and present themselves in public as married.

The Diff’rent Strokes actor died of a brain haemorrhage in 2010.

Another woman says Coleman named her a beneficiary and executor of his estate in 2005. Anna Gray managed Coleman’s affairs for a number of years and was his ex-girlfriend.

Article continues below

Part of The Wanted’s excitement over their recent success in the US comes from being initially dismissed in their native UK.

"Some radio stations in the UK who found out we were a boy band refused to play [our music]," said member Nathan Sykes. "They were like, ‘We love the song, but we can’t play boy bands because we’ll lose our credibility.’"

Added Max George: "These are like the most uncool people in the world."

Being a boy band has somewhat haunted the British based-quintet since their formation in 2009. People in the industry have tried to put the group in a box. The guys were even told at one point they’d need to learn how to dance.

Article continues below

The song will be a part of his next album Believe. "I wrote a song for my mum. But I’m going to put it out on Mother’s Day," aceshowbiz.com quoted Bieber as saying.

"It’s about the struggles, I say in the song. She had me at like the age I am now. It’s about just the struggles she went through and how brave she was, and I think the world needed to know that," he added.

Article continues below

Story By: by Andrew Lapin

Facing terminal cancer, 15-year-old Donald (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) escapes into drawing comic-book art and imagining himself an invulnerable superhero.

Death Of A Superhero

Not rated

With: Andy Serkis, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Jessica Schwarz, Aisling Loftus

There are no three words less likely to inspire a fun time at the movies than “kid with cancer.” And yet here is Death of a Superhero, the second film in less than a year with that log line — and the second one that manages to turn the grimmest of grim subjects into something charming, raunchy and improbably uplifting.

The story of a 15-year-old boy who uses comic-book art to cope with his rapidly failing health, Superhero has more than a little in common with 2011′s 50/50, right down to a hearty endorsement of marijuana’s medicinal properties. And as the volatile Donald, Thomas Brodie-Sangster communicates so much with simple looks, his anger and fear only occasionally giving way to flits of joy, that he resembles no one so much as a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

In this case, though, the odds are more like 100/0. Superhero is based on a 2007 novel by Anthony McCarten, who changed the setting from New Zealand to Ireland for his screenplay but maintains the book’s bleak outlook. Comics storyboards from the book are replaced with animated interludes in which Donald’s caped-crusader alter ego appears to be targeted by death’s minions for the simple fact of existing.

Perhaps it’s fitting that Andy Serkis, the actor who has frequented the world of fantasy as Gollum, King Kong and Caesar the ape, is here the anchor to reality as Donald’s grief counselor. His Dr. King is a stock type — the unconventional mentor who seems odd at first but soon wins over the protagonist with his idiosyncratic methods — but Serkis nevertheless makes the man feel natural, as if he and his art collection have been enjoying Dublin’s seaside breeze for decades.

Being an adolescent male, Donald’s chief concern is sex: how to have it, who’s having it, whether he can have it before he passes. His animated fantasies focus less on heroism and more on busty vixens who appear to have wandered over from 1981′s steamy cult flick Heavy Metal. Donald’s visions of death and smut intrude into his waking hours: After he pictures a well-endowed nurse savagely torturing his hero, he uses graffiti to etch his creation, in all her terrifying, life-threatening sexuality, onto the window of his school. Luckily, the girl of his dreams (Aisling Loftus) seems to dig his outlandish tastes in women, or at least the challenge of trying to pry him away from them.

Andy Serkis plays a psychologist who helps talk Donald through what he wants out of his remaining days.

Director Ian Fitzgibbon opts for a morose, heartstring-tugging approach to the material, which undercuts Donald’s raw, raunchy personality in an odd way. Stately photography highlights the Dublin coast while a soundtrack makes heavy use of the hush-voiced Angus & Julia Stone. If ever there was a time to switch up the well-worn formula for movies about terminal disease, surely this would’ve been it. Donald seems like the kind of guy who’d prefer his impending doom to be busier and more frenetic — you know, like The Avengers, against which Superhero seems like bold, sobering, slightly suicidal counterprogramming.

And yet ultimately the sweetness of the story proves to be kind of superhuman. Despite the squeamishness Donald’s particular sexual fixations might inspire, and despite the fact that he rarely acknowledges the existence of his parents, the kid turns out to be worthy of our sympathy. He’s not out to save the world; he’s fighting every day just to get out of bed and see it one more time, and that’s inspiring enough.

All five members of The Walkmen grew up in the D.C. area and attended the same high school. The band officially formed in 2000 when it moved to Harlem and created a recording space called Marcata Studios.

In 2002, the group released its first album, Everyone Who Pretended to Like Me Is Gone — its song “We’ve Been Had” was featured in a prominent commercial — but it was Bows + Arrows, the follow-up, which launched The Walkmen to national success. “The Rat” and “Little House of Savages” demonstrated the band’s versatility, and it was soon booked to play not only concerts and festivals, but also an episode of The O.C.

Though they closed their recording studio in 2006, The Walkmen’s members have continued to make great music. The group recently finished recording its seventh album, Heaven, set for release on June 5. Though the new record is quieter than its predecessors, the band has been performing with a full horn section.

Regardless of the band’s makeup, The Walkmen’s sound is characterized by its simplicity — urgent guitars, driving drums and, of course, the voice of Hamilton Leithauser, who seems to bellow, howl and croon simultaneously. On Friday, May 4, the band returns to Philadelphia’s World Cafe Live at noon ET.

Set List

Story By: Talk of the Nation

From farting fish, to the laws of stupidity, Marc Abrahams (editor and co-founder of The Annals of Improbable Research) has a knack for finding science that “makes you laugh, and then makes you think.” Abrahams discusses some improbable research, and why science that might at first seem absurd, matters.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Spanking, sex and submission are raking in profits for erotic novel “Fifty Shades of Grey”, reinvigorating marriages and sparking anguished debates among feminists, but there has been one unintended result of the novel – laughter.

The best-selling book by British writer E.L. James that has taken pop culture by storm also has become ripe for spoofs and parodies, even as Hollywood is agog over who will play the leads in an upcoming movie.

Comedians, bloggers and political satirists are having fun with the X-rated novel, dubbed “mommy porn,” telling of wealthy hero Christian Grey and his sadomasochistic seduction of naive young lover Anastasia Steele that is currently the third best-selling book of 2012 on Amazon.com.

One satirical novel, “Fifty Shames of Earl Grey”, has already been snapped up by publishers and is headed for U.S. bookstores this summer. And as “Fifty Shades of Grey” topped the New York Times best-seller list for a sixth week, talk show host Ellen DeGeneres last week broadcast a spoof audio reading.

DeGeneres used absurd paraphrases for the book’s more explicit terms and a kitchen spatula and bull whip as props in a clip that has been viewed more than 800,000 times on YouTube.

“Fifty Shames of Earl Grey” author Andrew Shaffer said he wrote his parody novel in just 10 days. It stars a handsome, super wealthy count called Earl Grey (after the British tea) who buys up businesses in his bid to bring naive college student Anna into his world of naughty dialogue.

Shaffer says the book also touches on topics like corporate greed and women’s rights that have triggered nationwide debates since the original E.L. James novel went mainstream after starting life as “Twilight Saga” fan fiction.

“There was a lot being written about the book and I thought the best way to write about some of the issues was through parody. It was the most fun I have ever had writing something because I was able to toss out all the rules and go straight for the humor,” Shaffer, 33, told Reuters.

“The hero is so fabulously rich that he buys up every company the heroine works for, including Amazon.com and Walmart, and he also has a private dinosaur island … so they actually have sex on a dinosaur’s back which is not something I have ever seen in a romantic novel before,” Shaffer added.

ENTER NEWT GINGRICH?

Comedy Central, home of political satirists Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert, got in on the act last week with an entry on its IndecisionForever.com website called “Fifty Shades of Grey: The Lost Newt Gingrich Passages.”

“If there’s one candidate who’s an expert on erotic fiction, it’s Newt Gingrich,” the website quipped of the former U.S. congressman and Republican presidential contender. “He’s had three wives (there’s your eroticism) and he thought he could be president (there’s your fiction)”, it said in a preface to some saucy, invented excerpts.

Howard Neuthaler, the writer and director of Venga Productions spoof song and video “Christian Penetrates the Suburbs” on YouTube, said he wasn’t surprised that the book had become the basis for parody.

“I can’t remember the last time there was something quite like this. There were books aimed at kids and teens like ‘Harry Potter’ and ‘The Twilight Saga,’ but this is something that went viral among an interesting set of people.

“I thought it would be a funny thing to do a spoof about what would happen if the people who actually read the book – the suburban mom set – were to encounter the types of things that happen in the book,” Neuthaler said.

One of the most popular reviews of “Fifty Shades of Grey” on Amazon.com comes tongue in cheek from David Shobin, who describes himself as a male senior citizen and semi-retired gynecologist.

“At my age my arthritis flared up just reading about Ana’s sexual gymnastics. And for some reason, I kept thinking about her contracting genital warts,” Shobin wrote on Amazon.com

Although the book counts young moms and female book clubs among its biggest fans, some women aren’t getting all hot and bothered by its sexual content.

New Jersey mom and blogger Kim at letmestartbysayingblog.com wondered what would happen to “Fifty Shades of Grey” protagonists Anastasia and Christian 50 years from now?

“He used to inflict pain to get off. Now he’s in pain getting off the couch” and “S&M now stands for Support Hose and Mobility Aids,” are among her whimsical suggestions.

(Reporting By Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

The Monkees frontman and token Brit who captivated audiences with his talent and charisma was the quintessential teen heartthrob.

News of Jones’ passing (he died of a heart attack at age 66 Wednesday) prompted nostalgic outbursts from fans, all wanting to reminisce about the Tiger Beat and 16 Magazine covers, the hours logged in front of the TV, and the moments spent bopping around to “Pleasant Valley Sunday.”

CNN.com commenter rosemeow wrote: “Sad feeling, when pieces of your childhood start falling away. There goes another piece of mine.”

Whether the grief stems from the feeling of closing a chapter in one’s own life, or the larger question of mortality, the death of a former teen idol can have a profound effect on fans.

Like Michael Jackson, who died in 2009, and Whitney Houston, who died last month, Jones was someone younger generations looked up to as “the first person who made them interested in music,” said Phil Gallo, Billboard’s senior correspondent.

For many people, The Monkees were the first group they could claim as their own, as opposed to the music that belonged to their parents, Gallo added. “That really affects people,” he said.

And then there was Jones’ teen heartthrob status.

“If you talked to any girl who liked The Monkees, invariably, (Jones) was her favorite,” Gallo said. “It’s the lead singer. It’s the cute one. The one who’s got the nice personality.”

But that fandom isn’t limited to the girls who would’ve gladly traded a limb for a date with Jones.

“When I was a kid, I wanted to BE Davy Jones,” actor Kevin Bacon tweeted. “Big part of what led me to showbiz.”

iReport: Share your memories of Davy Jones

A lot of the people who are grieving this loss are in their 40s and 50s, Gallo said, adding, “It’s a case of, ‘Wow, he’s one of me.’ People think of him as, ‘He’s from my lifetime. He’s my age.’ “

And though it seems like a far departure, that’s how today’s youths will view pop star Justin Bieber.

Sure, the magazines have changed — now it’s J-14 and Twist — and Jones’ fitted button-down shirts have been replaced by purple hoodies. But the significance of teen idols remains the same. (Ironically, so does the hair.)

In 2008, one year before Bieber earned his teen heartthrob status, Yahoo! Music named Jones the top teen idol of all time, ahead of Jackson and David Cassidy, who shared the honor with Bobby Sherman and Donny Osmond in the early 1970s.

Taking a page out of The Monkees’ book, Bieber has taken advantage of this time in the limelight, releasing a memoir, a movie, appearing on “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” and touring, all while making music.

Jones guest-starred as himself in a 1971 episode of “The Brady Bunch,” appropriately titled “Getting Davy Jones.” The now iconic episode, in which Jones performs “Girl” for Marcia at her prom, was beloved by fans.

“There’s something about The Monkees and what that told us about pop culture and how music and TV and, eventually, film can work together,” Gallo said. “This is sort of a lesson that people can still learn from, and it keeps getting repeated five decades later.”

The Beatles — the group that inspired The Monkees — released “A Hard Day’s Night” in 1964. Three decades later, ’90s superstars, The Spice Girls, came out with the movie “Spice World.”

“The teen idol marketplace is really a two- to five-year window,” Gallo said, and that was understood back when The Monkees were at their peak.

But the thing that makes The Monkees different is that their music managed to transcend generations, Gallo said. “Oldies radio or commercials or … on TV shows, (their music) kept getting used in the ’70s and ’80s, so when they had a comeback, there was an audience for it.”

After first finding fame in the late ’80s and mid ’90s, New Kids On The Block and Backstreet Boys, respectively, experienced a comeback of sorts when they toured together.

As former fans become parents, and introduce their children to The Monkees, Gallo said, their audience will grow. Not to mention that Smash Mouth’s version of “I’m a Believer” appeared in 2001′s “Shrek.”

CNN.com commenter papanez wrote: “Davy and The Monkees were very special to me. I enjoyed them back in the ’60s, I had a blast introducing my daughter to them when she was little, and I very much enjoyed their reunions.”

“There will come a day that somebody is going to play The Spice Girls or *NSYNC for their kids and say, ‘Let me tell you how great music used to be,’ ” Gallo said.

“It’s kind of hard for us to fathom, but in the same ways someone says ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’ is a great song and, ‘They don’t write (songs) that way anymore,’ I’m sure somebody will say that about ‘Backstreet’s Back’ one day.”

Published April 27th, 2012 – 06:47 GMT

After Syrian director Rasha Sharbatji reached the final stages for filming the new Syrian drama “Banat Al Aylah” (The Family’s women), Syrian actress Nisreen Tafish pulled out at the last minute jeopardizing the completion of the drama in time to be aired during the upcoming Ramadan season.

Nisreen made her decision to pull out of the drama after a heated dispute broke out between her and Rasha.

The drama is written by Syrian scenarist Rania Bitar and tells the story of the women of a family that were separated and each going her own way to live the life she chose.

The Syrian production company ‘Click It’ produces the drama that stars Basel Khayat, Bassem Yakhou, Dima Qandalfat, Kindah Alloush, Safa Sultan, Qamar Khalaf, Nifal Siriji, Saleem Sabri, Thana Dibsi, Dimah Al Jundi and many other young Syrian actors.

Very few actresses in television today play characters that closely resemble their real lives. Sofia Vergara is one of them.

She is Colombian, she is a divorced mother of a teenager and she is completely unassuming of her thick English accent. But the 39-year-old’s rise to fame, thanks to her acclaimed role in multi award-winning show Modern Family, has been nothing but meteoric.

As she returns for the third season, the sexy actress talks about the new direction her role is taking, being a mother of a 20-year-old, her fashion line and her ability to have a good laugh at herself.

So does the fact that the show is now an established, really successful show affect you?

Article continues below